Authentic 1-Day Ethiopian Injera: Gluten-Free 100% Teff Flat Bread - YumUniverse™ Heather Crosby The best results I came up with were with a 24 hour fermentation. The Injera was sour enough, but when I fermented longer than 24 hours, the batter flattened out on me. I think this was due to the lack of yeast/gluten. Maybe split the batch and experiment, see if you like the sour-level after 24 hours or 48 (if you go longer try not to stir the batter as it sits). Let us know what you discover. Reply Lisa Just made this flat bread (fermented) and am enjoying it with a salad. I love the taste and sponginess. I think mine is a little thick-about 1/4″. How thick should it be? Thanks for another great recipe Heather! Love this stuff. Always wondered how they were made. Demystified, time to go grocery shopping for teff flour. 🙂 Sharon Reply Zak Hello Heather – great looking recipe! One question, I don’t use baking powder in things. Is there a good substitute or can I leave it out? Thanks!

Heather Crosby Hi Zak, Can you use baking soda? If so, use that and 1/2 tsp lemon juice to activate. Tthe baking powder leavens and is naturally activated, but this new combo will work as well. You can always leave it out and see if it works—be sure to let us know if it does. Heather Crosby Hi there Irene, Not sure I’m following you about the cup size (tell me more!), but you can always add a bit more flour to the batter (1 tbsp at a time) if your first crepe needed a bit more volume—every batch is slightly different because we’re fermenting and in different parts of the world at differing elevations and climates. I’m so happy that you enjoyed this recipe, use it as a base to improvise and play around. Report back with your discoveries! x Tara Irene, A cup is a unit of measurement used in North America. It’s equivalent to about 240 milliliters. Hope that helps. (I’m assuming the confusion was due to metric measurements vs. non-metric.) Denise I must try to make these! Thank you for this awesome recipe! I have always loved injera, but have yet to attempt to replicate at home.

Could you please tell me the type of pan and size of pan that you use? Thank you Reply Eric T It’s been a long time since I had injera so, I’m not quite sure how well it came out for me. lol But the texture is pretty good and I like the taste. I guess I’ll chalk it up as a win. It could not have been easier. I did however discover I was out of coconut oil so, I used canola and I cut the cooking time down to 3 1/2 minutes with my gas cook top being on a 3 out of 8 setting. Reply git Stacking the “cakes” sounds like they would get soggy. What’s the best way to preserve them for later and then when you want to use them, what’s the best way to warm them up from the fridge? Heather Crosby Git, Stacking the cakes with parchment in between actually keeps them from getting soggy and from drying out. You can warm them in a skillet with a bit of coconut oil. Enjoy, H Reply Gabriella I’m making this recipe and accidentally put the baking powder in before I let the batter ferment. Do you think I need to start over?

I made a huge batch and don’t want to waste all that teff! 🙁 Reply Heather Crosby Gabriella, I don’t think it will ruin the batch at all, you may not get as much fermentation action, but the taste should still be delicious. Let us know… Reply Gabriella They did turn out pretty well, but, just like you said, there wasn’t as much fermentation. Thanks for the recipe! Reply Lynne If my batter didn’t seem to ferment, what might I have done wrong? I lifted off the towel after a day, and it looked just as soupy as when I mixed the teff and water the night before. It also didn’t have fermented smell. Any suggestions? Heather Crosby It may be that it’s too cool in kitchen? To expedite fermentation, I’ll sometimes put the batter on top of the fridge or resting on a cookie sheet on a gas range since the pilot light gently warms. You could also heat the oven to 400F then turn it off, set the batter in a bowl on top of oven, cover with a towel and let the warmth wake up the yeast in the mix. Another troubleshooting Q: were the ingredients organic?

If not, sometimes excessive heat and or radiation in shipping transit can kill any microbial activity. To kickstart a batch, you could also sprinkle 1/4–1/2 capsule of a probiotic into the batter to help ferment. Hope some of these tips help, Lynne! x 1000+ images about Teff Flour on Pinterest | Teff flour, Ethiopian injera and Gluten free Forward Injera is a sour and spongy round bread, made of teff flour, that’s naturally vegan and gluten-free. Sauces and dishes are commonly poured on top of the injera, which is then used as a vehicle to get the deliciousness from table to mouth. See More Gluten Free Ethiopian Flat bread Injera Recipe | Teff recipes | Chef In You Ethiopian Injera by DK on Feb 1, 2010 For last few months I am in pursuit of happyness (guess I am watching too many movies) this Ethiopian delicacy called Injera. HOW MANY BOOKS have I researched, how many online resources have I waded through, is too brobdingnagian to elaborate here! Most of the resources contradicted each other.

Many were more adept at giving shortcuts for a better taste than the real one. I mean no one would make such a dish classic if it tasted THAT bad right!? Or would they? That's where so many questions arose. More than 6-7 sources claimed that Injera was made purely only with Teff flour. Made sense. So I eliminated many of my notes which carried recipes made with "self rising flour","wheat flour","rye flour??!","all purpose flour" etc. Few other resources assured me that the highlight was the lengthy yeasty starter which made the spongy bread. Thus I eliminated few other notes which carried words "Baking powder" and "baking soda"! And now comes the problem! I did not have any recipe to work with! Either the starter had "other flours" in it or the starter was Teff but it had other flours in the main recipe!!! (May be they were talking about other Injera! I wudnt know!) It was confusing indeed! I even tried searching for someone from Ethiopia, without success! My husband actually even started doubting if he married a sane wife!

Who gets fanatic about a silly flatbread and that too from somewhere called Ethiopia which in his mind is synonymous with Masai Mara? (Husbands - Go figure!) I am not even going to elaborate how much he probably freaked out when I made a stinker in the kitchen (not me - the starter did it!) ;) Cook time: Lets start with the starter first! (Duh!) I followed Bread chick's instruction to the tee Day 1: Combine ingredients for the starter in a bowl. 2. Loosely cover the starter with the lid/cloth and ferment for two days on the counter or someplace that is about 70 degrees. You should see some rising in about four hours. Let alone for 2 days. 3. Day 3: Stir the starter. This is when the stinker effect starts. The starter has a very yeasty and grassy smell. You will also notice that small bubbles on the surface now. 4. Feed the starter 1/3 cup teff flour and 1/2 cup water and loosely cover with the lid. Let alone for 2 days. Day 5: Starter should have separated into distinct layers.

You would think that something has gone wrong with it - what with watery layer on top and dense muddy flour at the bottom! But that's exactly what we are looking for :) Stir starter, it should be slightly fizzy and have a very strong grassy aroma. Feed with 1/3 cup teff flour and 1/2 cup water. Loosely cover and allow to sit alone for at least 4 hours before using to make Injera. You should have about 2 cups of starter by now. Note: If you go to Day 7, follow Day 3 instructions for Day 5. You will have left over starter to make Injera again in the future this way. ( I just realized that I have forgotten to take a picture of my day 5 starter! Guess that stink got to me! ) Now lets go to the Injera recipe (verbatim from this link ) Uses only 1/4 cup of the starter. If you want to use all the 2 cups of the starter increase the flour, salt and water accordingly Mix. Place the starter in a bowl. Pour the water over the starter and stir to dissolve. 5. Add the teff flour and mix until the batter is smooth.

It will have the consistency of thin pancake batter. 6. Ferment. Cover and let stand for 5 to 6 hours at room temperature. Reserve 1/4 cup of the starter for the next batch. 7. Add the salt and stir to dissolve. 8. Heat a 10- or 12-inch skillet over medium heat (you’ll also need a tight-fitting lid). Using a paper towel, wipe the skillet with a thin layer of vegetable oil. Pour about 1/2 cup (for a 10-inch skillet) or 3/4 cup (for a 12-inch skillet) of batter in the center of the skillet. 9. Tilt and swirl the skillet immediately to coat evenly. 10. Let the bread cook for about 1 minute, just until holes start to form on the surface. 11. Cover the skillet with the lid to steam the injera. 12. Cook for about 3 minutes, just until the edges pull away from the sides and the top is set. 13. The first 1-2 Injera's might be a slight disaster - Don't worry. The rest of them will be pillows!

See 1 and 2 of mine down here? Sad :( But from the next ones it will be amazing.Promise. You don't have to turn the Injera. Just cook it on one side. It does not get the spongy texture immediately. But let it rest for 3-5 minutes and it suddenly gets that amazing texture. There is no muddy, bitter taste of Teff either. Serve it with any spicy dish. Spicy dish goes very well this. I served it with some hot tomato stew. Great for scooping the side dish!! Filed Under By Michael on May 30, 2013 I haven\'t started this recipe yet, but am going to soon, am still trying to source my Teff. I just wanted to agree with an earlier poster, if anybody is having issues grinding there own flour purchase a vita mixer, they are an amazing blender, they come with a purpose built tub for grinding dry goods and making flour, I used to have a small flour mill and sold it after I got this unit. nothing makes flour faster. they are also very heavy duty units.

anyways, I think I\'ve found my source for Teff and intend to start it this wknd, I am also looking for recipe\'s on beer made with Teff, apparently it makes a good beverage, my sister has celiac and misses beer. :) By chourcha on Sep 2, 2012 Followed your recipe except for the starter I used sourdough starter from Amazon. The injera looked great except for the ones I tried to use Absit. ( in Ethiopia a small portion of the mix is added to boiling water and cooked to a gravy consistency; after cooling down the Absit it's added to the mix. Wait until it rises again and make the injera) the injera with Absit didn't look great but they were softer. Ethiopian Injera Ethiopian Injera By Korena in the Kitchen 35 Comments A few years ago I had lunch with my Mum at an Ethiopian restaurant in Vancouver. Never having had Ethiopian food before, I had no idea what to expect, other than my Mum telling me that we would be eating “injera” made from “teff”, which really didn’t do much to clear things up.

What arrived at our table was a giant, crèpe-like flatbread covered in dollops of several kinds of thick, curry-like stew, to be shared between the two of us. Eating with our hands, we tore off pieces of the crèpe and used it to scoop up the stew, which was spicy and flavourful and incredibly delicious. The crèpe, as it turned out, was called injera , and it was made from a grain called teff (which happens to be gluten-free). It had a pleasant, almost spongy texture and slightly sour flavour, due to it being made with a sourdough starter of sorts. Along with being one of the most unusual eating experiences I have ever had (it’s not everyday in Canada that an edible part of your meal serves as both plate and eating utensil), that lunch was also one of the most memorable and delicious. Since then, I had kept the notion of making injera in the back of my mind, but it wasn’t until I saw it as one of the suggested recipes for this month’s Sourdough Surprises flatbread project that it came to fruition.

Traditionally, injera is made from a pre-fermented starter of teff flour, but it can easily be made with a wheat flour sourdough starter, which is what I used. It did require finding teff flour , but a trip to the local health food store had me sorted, and from there it really could not have been easier: you mix up a soupy concoction of sourdough starter, water, and teff flour, then let it ferment for several hours until it gets bubbly, then swirl it in a frying pan and cook it much like a French crèpe, only you don’t have to flip it. The injera develops its distinctive spongy texture after cooking, as it cools a bit. The traditional Ethiopian stew served on top of injera is called wat , made from meat or vegetables and flavoured with a spice mix called berbere , which is analogous to curry powder in that there are as many variations as there are cooks.

Several kinds of wat are usually served on a large communal injera, so I made a delicious approximation of this Ethiopian lamb stew (using an approximation of this berbere seasoning ) along with a rather uninteresting and decidedly non-Ethiopian lentil dal to dollop on my injera. Any kind of thick, spicy stew or curry would be appropriate, too. (For more about Ethiopian cuisine, I found this page interesting.) All in all, a pretty fun project and a good way to shake things up at dinner time! Check out the Sourdough Surprises blog to see what other flatbreads were made this month using sourdough. 🙂 Ethiopian Injera Adapted from Apple Pie, Patis, & Pàté . Makes 5 – 6 injera, 10″ – 12″ in diameter. Traditional injera are up to 20″ in diameter, but good luck finding a frying pan that size! The recipe below uses a wheat flour sourdough starter. To make a teff starter (which takes 5 days), check out this post .

In a large bowl, mix together: 1/4 cup sourdough starter 1 3/4 cups room temperature water Stir to dissolve the starter, then add: 1 3/4 cups teff flour Mix the batter until it is smooth. It will be quite thin, like crèpe batter. Cover and let ferment at room temperature for 5 – 6 hours. After several hours, my batter developed a layer of water on top, and then about an hour later, the water had disappeared and and it had started to produce foamy bubbles. I took that to mean it was ready. At this point, you can reserve 1/4 cup of the batter to keep as the starter for your next batch. I didn’t do this – I only need one kind of sourdough starter to babysit, and this was easy enough to make with the one I already have. With a whisk, stir in: 1/4 tsp salt The batter should be quite active now – I could actually watch it foam and ferment, which was pretty neat. Heat a 10″ or 12″ non-stick skillet over medium heat (the skillet needs to have a lid, too).

Test the skillet’s heat by flicking some drops of water on it: if they sizzle and dance, it should be ready. Pour 1/2 cup (for 10″ skillet) to 3/4 cup (for 12″ skillet) of batter into the skillet and swirl it around to coat the bottom. Bubbles should appear on the surface almost immediately. Cook for about a minute, until the outer inch of the injera starts to set. Cover with the lid and cook/steam for another minute or so, until the middle of the injera is just set as well and the edges start to pull away from the pan. Remove the injera by inverting the skillet and dumping the injera out upside down. Move it to a rack to cool slightly. (Note: like crèpes, the first injera might be a total disaster. The next ones will be better!) The injera can be served warm or at room temperature. They can also be stored for up to 3 days in an airtight container at room temperature. To re-heat, wrap them in a damp cloth and microwave for a minute or two, until warm.

I did this, but next time I would serve them the day I make them because they got pretty crumbly. To serve, place an injera on a plate and top it with dollops of thick stew (too much liquid or sauce will make the injera soggy). Cut the remaining injera into strips and roll them up to serve alongside. To eat, tear off pieces of the injera with your fingers and scoop up the stew with it. Make sure you have lots of napkins handy! This post has been YeastSpotted ! Doro Wat (Spicy Ethiopian Chicken Stew) - The Daring Gourmet The Daring Gourmet Grappling Each Dish By The Horns Sign up for our newsletter! Email* Doro Wat (Spicy Ethiopian Chicken Stew) Written on 27 August, 2013 There is a reason why Doro Wat is the national dish of Ethiopia and one of the most famous of all African dishes – it’s fabulous! Doro Wat is one of the most famous of all African dishes. You will find it in every Ethiopian restaurant and virtually anyone who is familiar with African cuisine will have heard of it.

Another version, though not as commonly known here, is Sik Sik Wat, made with beef. You can directly substitute beef for chicken and follow the same cooking instructions. Doro Wat is traditionally made very spicy. Super spicy. Like I-don’t-know-how-Ethiopians-have-any-taste-buds-left spicy. Western adaptations are still spicy, but quite tame compared to the real deal. Traditionally Doro Wat is served with an Ethiopian flatbread called injera. It’s kind of a spongy pancake made with teff flour (a grain indigenous to the area), and the batter is left to ferment for up to 4 days before its used. The injera is used in place of an eating utensil and is used to scoop up the chicken stew. I didn’t have time to make the injera for this recipe because of it’s long fermentation process, but a recipe will follow in the future. This recipe for Doro Wat comes by way of request from Jared ( Make a Request! ). He said he has been trying for several years to find a good recipe. Jared, this recipe is both authentic and delicious – I think you’ll be very happy with it!

The key to authentic, great-tasting Doro Wat is good quality, flavorful berbere , and a very long cooking process. It can take several hours for an Ethiopian to make Doro Wat. You can cut back on the cooking time and your Doro Wat will still taste good, but it won’t taste like it’s supposed to. The magic is in the slow-cooked onions. And it takes time for the magic to happen. Speaking of magic, come take a look at Ethiopia’s beautiful landscapes. All pictures courtesy of the Development Planning Unit, University College London Gorgeous. Back to Doro Wat. A central ingredient of Doro Wat is Berbere , a fiery, bright red and flavorful Ethiopian spice blend. It is best made fresh using whole spices that are toasted and ground for maximum flavor. A combination of whole and ground spices are used as seen in the picture below. The whole spices are toasted and ground up with the already ground spices to make a beautiful, aromatic, flavorful and spicy seasoning blend. Purchasing these spices will serve you well as each of them are commonly used in a large variety of other cuisines. Stored in airtight glass jars in a dark place, they will keep a very long time.

If you’d rather purchase berbere, you can find it online . You need 1/4-1/3 cup for this recipe alone, so forget the tiny 2-3 oz jars of it you usually find for sale. The best deal I’ve found for bulk berbere (and it also happens to be organic and a reputable brand) can be found HERE . Berbere makes a great rub for meat, poultry, and fish, as well as a seasoning for stews, soups, and vegetables. It’s a great all-purpose spice, so you’ll be able to make good use of this bulk package if you decide to buy versus make your own. So now that you’re equipped with Ethiopian berbere you’re ready to make Doro Wat! Let’s get started! Use a food processor to very finely mince the onion – you want an almost chunky puree. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a Dutch oven (I use and love Lodge) and saute the onion, covered, over low heat for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more butter or oil if it gets too dry. In the meantime, finely mince the garlic and ginger.

Add the garlic, ginger, and 1 tablespoon of butter. Continue to saute, covered, over low heat for another 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 4 tablespoons of berbere and 2 teaspoons salt and stir to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of butter, cover, and simmer over low heat for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes you’ll have a rich and luscious sauce that’s ready for the chicken! Traditionally, bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces are used. You can either use chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch chunks, or use boneless chicken breast. I used breast this time. Cut the breast into small, 1/2 inch chunks. Place the chunks in a dish with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and let sit at least 15 minutes. Add the chicken to the sauce. Traditionally, Tej is used, an Ethiopian honey wine. As a substitute we’re going to use white wine with a teaspoon of honey. Add the chicken stock and honey wine to the mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, boil the eggs.

Once the eggs have cooled enough to handle, peel and pierce them all over with a fork, about 1/4 inch deep, to allow the sauce to penetrate. After 45 minutes you’ll have a rich, luscious spicy chicken stew ready for the eggs! Add the eggs and continue to simmer, covered, over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Adjust the seasonings according to taste. Add more berbere according to heat preference. 5.0 from 8 reviews Teff Grain Recipes - Cooking With Grains | Dr. Weil 1 min Cooking With Grains: Teff If you’ve ever dined in an Ethiopian restaurant, you’ve eaten teff, whether you know it or not. Teff is the world’s tiniest grain; roughly one-hundredth the size of a wheat berry. Its name derives from the Amharic word for “lost,” as small things are likely to be. Teff is most commonly consumed in the form of injera, a spongy flatbread made from teff flour, which is used to scoop up wats (or “stews”) in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisines.

Also called lovegrass, teff comes in an array of colors, ranging from ivory to purple, but brown is perhaps the most common shade. The miniscule teff grain also packs a disproportionately large nutritional punch: its small size means that the germ and the bran – the most nutrient-dense layers – make up a larger proportion of the overall seed. The teff grain is also known for its superior amino acid profile, being high in lysine, a protein essential for muscle repair. It is the primary source of carbohydrates for many of Ethiopia’s elite runners, including marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie. Like quinoa, rice, millet and amaranth, teff is completely gluten-free and a delicious wheat alternative for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. You can find teff at health food stores or ethnic markets. Cooking time: 20 minutes Liquid per cup of grain: 3 cups How to cook teff: Combine teff and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until water is absorbed. You may stir occasionally towards the end of cooking. Share Dr.

Weil's expertise with your friends & family Read more tips, recipes, and insights on a wide variety of topics from Dr. Weil here. Teff Benefits: 8 Healthy Reasons To Add Teff To Your Diet Teff Benefits: 8 Healthy Reasons To Add Teff To Your Diet The Huffington Post Canada | By Arti Patel ADVERTISEMENT It's the super tiny grain with the not-so-tiny power. Teff, which is grown in Ethiopia and used to make injera (the sourdough flatbread), is a small grain with a long list of health benefits. "Teff packs a nutritional punch to your diet if you are looking for a super food that gives you excellent combination benefits," says Rosanna Lee, a nutrition educator based in Toronto. Along with being gluten-free, high in iron and super tasty, teff has also recently been called out as being Hollywood's new superfood and the new quinoa. Gwyneth Palrow and Victoria Beckham are both fans of teff and the grain's multiple uses, according to the Daily Mail. According to the Dr. Oz Show, teff is also known to reduce PMS symptoms and help you lose weight , and Lee says it's ideal for vegetarians looking for sources of protein.

But the one thing this super grain doesn't have is a cheap price tag. Teff can cost up to $8 per pound and one site that ships teff across North America starts at $25 for four pounds. If you don't mind spending the money, though, this superfood could just be worth it. Here are Lee's eight reasons why you need more teff in your life. Close Current Slide High Nutritional Value Teff is high in protein with a great combination of eight essential amino acids needed for the body’s growth and repair. It has high amounts of calcium (1 cup of cooked teff offers about 1/2 cup of calcium found in cooked spinach), manganese, phosphorous, iron, copper, aluminum, barium, thiamin, and vitamin C (which is not normally found in grains). The iron from teff is easily absorbed and is also recommended for people with low blood iron levels. Gluten-Free Teff is a gluten-free grain so it can be a great alternative for those living with celiac disease, having gluten intolerance or choosing a gluten-free lifestyle. Better Manage Blood Sugars If you’re diabetic, you might want to consider adding teff to your diet to control blood sugar levels.

Teff contains approximately 20 to 40 per cent resistant starches and has a relatively low glycemic index (GI) that can help diabetics better regulate their sugar levels. It Will Make You Go Teff is also great for helping you go. The fibre content in this tiny little grain can help you regulate your bowel movements and keep you feeling fuller longer. Low In Sodium Teff is also great for those seeking to lower their blood pressure and maintain a heart healthy diet. Unprocessed teff is a better alternative compared with pre-processed, cooked teff which often comes with preservatives or additives that are high in sodium. If you're worried, always double check nutritional labels. Low In Fat Naturally, this grain is very low in saturated fat. You Can Do A Lot With It Part of eating a nutritionally adequate diet is being able to incorporate superfoods like teff into all of your meals. Teff is a versatile grain and can be eaten whole, steamed, boiled or baked. Today, teff is found in a variety of products like pancakes, breads, cereals, snack bars and many other foods. Traditionally, it is used to make Ethiopian injera (sourdough bread).

It Tastes Great Looking very much like poppy seeds, teff has a nutty, grainy taste and texture that can add dimension to your recipes and cooking. Most Ethiopian platters are served on injera bread. Or follow us on Twitter Follow @HuffpostCaLiv Also on HuffPost: More: injera | Buzz Ethiopia By CHRISTINE MUNGAI , Mail & Guardian Africa From teff, moringa, amaranth and hibiscus, here’s some health secrets of Africa’s most nutritious plants Women wearing peplum veils eat injera and spicy Ethiopian food after a church service. (Photo by Photofusion/Universal Images Group via Getty Images). THE number of hungry people in the world has dropped to 795 million from 1 billion in 1990-92, to the latest State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 (SOFI). Released in Rome on May 27, SOFI 2015 reported that in the developing regions, the prevalence of undernourishment declined to 12.9% of the population, down from 23.3% a quarter century ago.

The report published by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) praised the efforts of Africa, in particular western Africa, in achieving their millennium development goals (MDG) hunger target. However, despite the progress, sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest prevalence of undernourishment in the world, at 23.2%. The situation could get better – or worse – depending on how the continent’s and the world’s love affairs with some of its increasingly popular foods plays out. Early this month, the Ethiopian government announced plans to allow the partial lifting of a ban on exports of teff grain, touted as the newest “superfood” in the health food circuits particularly in the Europe and North America. But the challenge will be how to get high prices internationally while keeping prices low locally, to avoid the fate that befell other “super foods” like quinoa and spelt that became too expensive for ordinary farmers in the end. Under the plan, Ethiopian teff will be produced commercially for export under tight government control on 48 farms throughout the country, according to a report in GeeskaAfrika.

We look at 10 super foods in Africa that pack a serious nutritional punch, that you should be eating – and drinking – right now: 1. Teff Grown predominantly in Ethiopia and Eritrea, teff is a fine grain that packs a serious nutritional punch. It leads all the grains – by a large margin – in its calcium content, with a cup of cooked teff containing 123mg of calcium, about the same as half a cup of spinach. It’s also high in protein, iron, and – unusual for a grain – in vitamin C. Used to make the traditional flatbread injera which is a regional stable, export of teff grain or flour have been banned by the Ethiopian government since 2006. No doubt the Ethiopian government has looked nervously at the example of another superfood, quinoa, which has become so popular on the global stage that many people in its native countries – Peru and Bolivia – can no longer afford to buy it . And hunger is a political issue in Ethiopia that the authorities have an extremely low tolerance for. 2. Fonio Fonio grain in southern Senegal.

(Photo: USAID) Native to the West African Sahel, fonio is a drought-resistant grain related to millet, that is high in amino acids and is a favourite in salads, stews and porridges. Like teff, fonio matures quickly, producing grain in just six to eight weeks, and so can be relied upon in semi-arid areas with poor soil and unreliable rainfall. It’s rising in popularity among foodies in big cities like New York, but there are also concerns that although large scale fonio exports would be profitable for local farmers, they themselves could end up being priced out of the market. 3. Amaranth Known by various names in Africa – mchicha in Swahili, terere among the Gikuyu, Meru and Embu of Kenya, doodo in Uganda and shoko in Yoruba, both the leaves and grain of amaranth are used as food. Amaranth grain contains about 30% more protein than cereals like rice, sorghum and rye; its nutritional profile is comparable to wheat germ and oats Compared to other grains, amaranth is unusually rich in the essential amino acid lysine.

Common grains such as wheat and corn are comparatively rich in amino acids that amaranth lacks; thus, amaranth and grains can complement each other. 4. Moringa Moringa trees in Etosha Reserve, Namibia. (Photo: Flickr/ Petr Kosina). If you can disguise the heavy chlorophyll taste, moringa oleifera gives you one of the most nutrient-dense packages around. Native to Africa and South Asia, all parts of the moringa tree – bark, pods, leaves, nuts, seeds, tubers, roots, and flowers – are edible. The leaves are used fresh or dried and ground into powder, and are high in protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin C and Vitamin A; some estimates show that gram-for-gram, moringa contains twice the protein of yoghurt, four times the calcium of milk, seven times the Vitamin C of oranges and 25 times the iron of spinach. Advocacy groups are now touting moringa as a remedy for malnutrition in Africa, especially among infants, children and nursing mothers.

Moringa is especially promising as a food source in the tropics because the tree is in full leaf at the end of the dry season when other foods are typically scarce. 5. Pumpkin leaves Commonly known in Nigeria as “ugwu/ ugu”, pumpkin leaves are eaten all over Africa and form a common part of the diet when available; leaves can be eaten fresh or dried. They can be steamed like spinach, sauteed in some olive oil with garlic and salt, or used in stir frys and stews. Pumpkin leaves contain a healthy amount of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, and iron, as well as folate, potassium, and some of the B-vitamins. 6. Baobab fruit The iconic baobab is a common tree in eastern and southern Africa’s savannahs, and its fruit provides nutrition to both humans and many other animals, from birds to honey bees. Baobab fruit is very dry so it keeps almost indefinitely, and it is used to make juice from its powder of by soaking the fruit and straining out the pulp and seeds.

Baobab fruit is particularly high in antioxidants, as well as fibre (10 times the fibre of apples), potassium, magnesium and iron. Powdered baobab leaves are commonly sold in markets around West Africa, and can be mixed in to juices and smoothies. 7. Hibiscus Hibiscus tea at a café in Aswan, Egypt. (Photo: Flickr/ Huzaifa Das) When dried hibiscus flowers are steeped in hot water, the dark red hibiscus tea is called karkadeh/ karkadyin Arabic, and is popular in North Africa, particularly Egypt and Sudan. In Egypt and Sudan, wedding celebrations are traditionally toasted with a glass of hibiscus tea. In West Africa, it’s known as bissap, tsoborodo or wonjo; bissap is called the “national drink of Senegal.” Hibiscus tea is rich in antioxidants minerals and vitamin C, and served hot it loses a bit of its characteristic sour. It can also be served chilled with ice. 8.

Tamarind Native to tropical Africa and prized for its sweet-and-sour flavour, tamarind (also known as ukwaju in Swahili) is used to make juice, and is rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Its sticky pulp is a rich source of dietary fibre; 100 g of fruit pulp provides 5.1 or over 13% of the dietary fibre that you typically need in a day. Tamarind is particularly useful for restoring electrolyte imbalance when you’re experiencing dehydration, which is why many East African coastal communities will serve a glass of ukwaju to a guest coming in from a hot day – or as a hangover remedy. 9. Coconut The humble coconut, ubiquitous to tropical coastlines everywhere, has some serious health benefits . Its unique fatty-acid combination promotes healthy brain function; protein-containing coconut milk aids the digestive system, is a natural antiviral, and boosts skin health. Like tamarind, coconut water is a great electrolytic drink, rehydrating the body at a cellular level. 10.

Kenkiliba The leaves from Kenkiliba shrub, native to the Sahel, are used to make an infusion tea that is touted as a digestive detoxifier and cure-all, common in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Guinea and the Gambia. Some West African Muslims will break their all-day Ramadhan fast with bread and a sweet and milky kenkiliba tea, as kenkiliba is a digestive stimulant. From Teff to Injera – the process for Foreigners 22 April 2014 Ethiopian food is rich in spices, the most common being a blend called Berbere (pronounced ” ber-beray”), a mixture which includes ginger, garlic, fiery red chile, salt, fenugreek seeds, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric and garlic. It’s … read more April 23, 2014

Question: A flatbread called injera that is traditionally eaten in Ethiopia is made from the flour of what grain that is now being called as the new quinoa?
Answer: Teff